Mechanism for charging blast-furnaces



(No Model.) I

-H. G. WILLIAMS, MECHANISM FOR CHARGING BLAST FURNACES.

No. 554,562. Patented Feb. 11, 1896.

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HENRY GORDON IVILLIAMS, OF PUEBLO, COLORADO.

MECHANISM FOR CHARGING BLAST-FURNACES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 554,562, dated February 1 1, 1896.

Application filed July 22, 1895. Serial No. 556,754. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY GORDON WIL- LIAMS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pueblo, in the county of Pueblo and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and usef ul Improvements in Mechanism for Charging Blast-Furnaces; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to certain improvem ents in apparatus for feeding and distributing the charge of ore in blast-furnaces, and it is especially adapted to furnaces used in smelting silver, lead, gold, and copper ores.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple, cheap, and thoroughly-efitlcient apparatus which will charge the ore, fluxes, and fuel simultaneously into the furnace and effect a proper-distribution of these materials by mechanical means without the expense of doing so by hand, as is at present in general the case in blast-furnace practice of the kind mentioned.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through a so-called silver-lead blast-furnace, showing the charging-car in longitudinal elevation above it. Fig. 2 is a cross or lateral vertical section of a lead-silver blastfurnace, showing the charging-car above it. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the top of the furnace on alarger scale. Fig. at is a horizontal section, also on a larger scale, of the furnace on the lines X X of Figs. 1 and 2, showing the distributers in plan view. Fig. 5 is a cross-section, on an enlarged scale, of one of the distributers.

Fig. 6 is a cross-section, on an enlarged scale,

of the furnace-charging-door support, showing the position. of one of the doors when closed.

The apparatus consists principally of a charging-car A, the furnace-charging doors l3, and the distributers C.

The charging-car is constructed preferably of iron throughout and is supported over the top of the f urnaceD upon the T-rails E, which also serve as a track upon which it is moved to and from the furnace. In length and width it is constructed somewhat less than the length and width of the openings closed by the furnace-charging doors B B. The car is provided with two discharging-doors F F, as shown in Fig. 2, hinged at F F, and a V-shaped bottom G, with the point of the V upward. The doors when closed fit tightly at their lower edges against the bottom G, one on each side of it, and in opening swing outward into a vertical position, as shown by the dotted lines F F thus allowing the contents of the car to be discharged in two equal parts, one on each side of the V-shaped bottom G.

The two furnace-charging doors B B are secured rigidly to the shafts H H by the hingestraps H H, &c., which are keyed to the shafts. The two shafts H H turn in bearings H attached to the cast-iron door-support I, as shown in, Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 6, which support rests upon the top casting J of the furnace. Two gear-wheels K K, attached rigidly one to each of the shafts H H on the outside of the furnace-wall D and meshing into each other, cause the two doors to open and close simultaneously when the lever L, which is rigidly attached to an extension of one of the shafts, is moved. This lever is provided with a counterweight L, so that when the doors B B are closed they will remain in that position. When the doors are open to permit of the process of charging the furnace, they assume a vertical position, as shown in Fig.

1 and also by the dotted lines B B in Fig. 2,

swinging in toward the center of the furnace. When closed they are in the position shown by B B in Figs. 2, 3 and 6.

The distributers C C may be one or more in number. They are supported by the rods M M, &c., from the top casting J and preferably extend across the furnace inits narrow direction, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. They are constructed ofcast'iron in the shape of a V with the point of the V upward, and when in position extend in a direction at right angles to the direction of the V-shaped bot tom G of the car A.

The distributers C are held permanently in their proper places by the iron bars N N, one of which extends longitudinally through the furnace D and its end walls at each end of the series of distributers and is held in position by nuts 0 0 outside of each end of the furnace in such manner that the bar cannot move longitudinally. The bars N N are successively secured to the ends of each one of the series of distributers O C in the manner shown at P, Fig. 5, thus securing the distributers in their relative position to themselves and to the rest of the furnace.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The car A, being filled with its charge of ore and fuel, is brought into the proper position over the top of the furnace D, as shown in Fig. 2. The two furnace-charging doors B B are then by the lever L brought into position 13 B. The two hinged discharging-doors F F of the car A are then opened to the position F F, and the charge, divided into two equal parts by the hopper-bottom G of the car, is dropped directly into the top of the furnace, one-half through each one of the openings of the doors B B, which are immediately closed. The top of the stock of ore in the furnace be ing kept below the distributers G O, the charge of the ore in dropping strikes the distributers before reaching its final position on top of the stock already in the furnace. This breaks the force of the impact of the dropping charge upon the stock and prevents its becoming packed, which would render it mo e difficult of penetration by the blast.

One of the serious difficulties in the mechanical feeding of blast-furnaces is the tendency of the fine parts of the charge to predominate in one part of the furnace and the coarse parts in another-for example, the fines around the side walls and the coarser parts in the center, or the opposite. This is due to the fact that the top of the stock in the furnace is not ordinarily level and the tendency of the larger pieces of ore to roll to the lower parts, while the fines retain in a much larger degree the position first taken in dropping into the furnace. While not claiming that my apparatus prevents all inequalities in the distribution of the coarse and line parts of the ore in the furnace, the distributers O (1 reduce such unequal distribution to a minimum. As the charge drops into the furnace from the car A, the coarse and fine parts of the charge would take certain relative positions in the furnace longitudinally with the furnace and the car somewhat similar to those taken in feeding with the bell and hopper, but the distribution is broken up and readjusted by the distributers O G being at right angles to the hopper-bottom Grof the car and several in number; and as preferably the top of the stock of ore in the furnace is maintained at a short distance below the distributers a new separation of the coarse and fine parts of the ore is largely prevented,

as well as any large inequalities in the level of the top of the stock, and such inequalities in distribution as may occur are in parallel lines several in number, depending upon the number of distributers employed, directly across the furnace from side to side in such manner that all parts of the ore are practically equally penetrable by the blast and will settle at equal rates of speed as far as such settling is effected by the distribution of the coarse and fine materials in the furnace.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a blast-furnace of a car having discharge-doors in its lower part, and means for dividing the load when discharged, and distributers arranged in said furnace transversely to the line on which the load is divided substantially as described.

2. The combination with a blast-furnace of a car having an inverted-V-shaped bottom, doors closing against each side thereof, and distributers arranged in said furnace transversely to the said bottom, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a blast-furnace of a car having an inverted-V-shaped bottom,

doors closing against each side thereof, and inverted-V-shaped distributers arranged in said furnace transverse to the car-bottom, substantially as described.

4. In a blast-furnace, the combination with means for dividing the charge into two parts, of distributers arranged in the furnace transverse to the line of division, substantially as described.

5. A blast-furnace provided at its top with two parallel horizontal doors, means for operating the same, and distributers fixed below said doors and transverse thereto, substantially as described.

6. In a blast-furnace, the combination with transverse inverted-Vshaped distributers, of rods supporting the distributers at each end, and bars also attached to their ends and fastened to the walls of the furnace, substantially as described.

7. The combination with a blast-furnace, of a car having an inverted-V-shaped bottom adapted to divide the charge into two parts, two parallel horizontal doors, each adapted to receive one part of the charge, and dis tributers transverse to said doors adapted to still further subdivide and distribute the charge, substantially as described.

I11 testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY GORDON \VILLIAMS.

Witnesses:

W. W. ALLEN, NV. WV. 000mm. 

